Telepath

by Janet Edwards

  “Nicole, you did a fantastic job this morning. Forget the acting team leader role; you’re Liaison permanent team leader now.”

  Her face lit up. “That’s incredible!”

  I managed a couple more enthusiastic sentences, then ended the call and slumped on the couch again.

  Lucas leaned back in his chair. “Poor Nicole. Thrown into an emergency run on her first day as Liaison team leader.”

  “How did we end up doing an emergency run anyway? We were supposed to still be in training.”

  He groaned. “That was my fault. The other Telepath Units couldn’t take the emergency. Their Tactical Commanders knew our unit was nearly operational, so they called me and asked if we could help. I hated throwing that emergency at unprepared people, especially you, but what choice did I have? If our unit didn’t respond, the hasties would have to handle it alone, and by the time they identified the target …”

  He broke off. “Sorry. I’m babbling. That’s the way reaction hits me.”

  I frowned. “It bothers you too then?”

  “Yes.” Lucas rubbed his forehead. “I didn’t expect it to be this bad, but previously I’ve just been sitting with the others in the Tactical office, feeding suggestions to my team leader. Today I was the Tactical Commander, making a snap decision on whether to rush us into an operational run or leave an unknown number of people to die.”

  “You sounded so calm.”

  “A Tactical Commander has to appear totally calm and relaxed. How can other people trust his guidance if he doesn’t sound confident himself? Underneath though, I was horribly aware I was sending people in before they’d finished training. Any injuries would be my fault. Any deaths would be on my conscience.”

  “I’m surprised. I thought you …”

  He interrupted me with an impatient wave of his hand. “You’ve walked through my mind, Amber. You must know I’m human.”

  I felt guilty again. I’d been selfishly focused on my own problems, but that emergency run had been hard on Nicole. It had been hard on Lucas. It would have been hard on others too. “How are Adika and the Strike team coping?”

  Lucas smiled. “It was the Strike team’s first ever run, so they were a little shaken afterwards, but as I said earlier, Strike team bounce. Adika lectured them about a dozen things they could have done better, but finished by saying they did quite well for a bunch of clueless greenies. That’s high praise by his standards, so they went off feeling far too exuberant to suffer from nerves.”

  “Adika gave the poor things a lecture! Why? They did amazingly well.”

  “Adika has no mercy on his Strike team. Anything short of perfection must be improved, because mistakes could get them killed. I got lectured too.”

  “You did?”

  “After Adika finished with the Strike team, he turned on me. He said a few choice words about me sending them on a genuine emergency run, and made some eye watering suggestions about what he could do to me in revenge. The Strike team really enjoyed listening to him.”

  I laughed.

  Lucas changed the subject. “Let’s forget all about emergency runs and wild bees now. How about a relaxing game of chess? You can read my mind and beat me.”

  “I’m not in the mood to read minds.”

  “You don’t have to read me,” he teased, “but you know I’ll win if you don’t.”

  We played chess. Lucas didn’t so much win as completely slaughter me. After the third massacre, exhaustion hit me. I’d totally lost track of time, and was shocked to discover it was almost midnight.

  “I must get to sleep.”

  Lucas nodded. “I think we should do a standard check run tomorrow.”

  I tensed.

  “You’re worried about reading the mind of a wild bee again,” he continued. “The best way to reassure you is by doing a nice, peaceful check run. We’ll have a little stroll round one of our suspect areas, and you can track down the wild bee without any pressure. There’s an area with a simple firebug developing. They’ve only scorched a few walls so far, but we need to get them treatment before anyone gets hurt. How about scheduling the check run for eleven tomorrow morning?”

  I wanted to argue, demand a delay, but I was bone tired and desperate to be left alone. “If that’s what you want.”

  I stood up, and waited for Lucas to move. He didn’t.

  “I’m going to bed,” I said pointedly.

  “I’m tired too,” said Lucas. “I’ll camp in your spare room if that’s all right.”

  I’d had plenty of chances to read the details of what happened to Olivia and York in the minds of people around me. I’d shied away from doing that, because I didn’t want to know when and how the strain had got too much for them, but now one fact was obvious. Either Olivia or York had been broken by the stress of their first emergency run. That was why Lucas had pushed his way into my apartment, and why he wanted to stay in my spare room. He was scared what might happen to me if I was left alone.

  “I’ll be all right, Lucas,” I said.

  He gave me an unconvincing imitation of his usual light-hearted grin. “But I’m really, really tired, Amber. Don’t you have a spare room?”

  If I forced him into leaving, he’d probably spend the whole night sitting outside my front door, worrying about me. Waste it, if I forced Lucas into leaving, then Megan would arrive and insist on spending the night here. I gave in.

  “There’s a spare room or six around somewhere. I have everything in this apartment. I wouldn’t be surprised to open a door and find my own beach.”

  “I don’t think Megan could manage a full size beach, but she’d arrange a miniature version if you asked nicely.” Lucas paused for a moment. “Promise to call me if you need anything.”

  I sighed. “I promise.”

  I went into my bedroom, shut the door, peeled off my clothes, and dumped them on the floor. This morning’s clothes were still scattered there as well. I’d been barricaded in my apartment all day, so Hannah had had no chance to sneak in and clear up my mess.

  I turned on the sleep field, flopped onto it with relief, and then cursed and rolled out again. I stirred the clothes on the floor with one foot, uncovered the thin smooth mesh of my body armour, picked it up and tossed it on a chair. I’d need that for tomorrow’s run. If tomorrow’s run didn’t turn out to be me running away. I didn’t think I could face reading another wild bee.

  I collapsed back onto the warm air of the sleep field again. I couldn’t run away. The security system would notify Adika if I went into a lift, and I’d have the entire Strike team after me.

  Jets of air caressed me, turning me gently as I floated in mid air. I wondered if Lucas was asleep, or if he’d stay awake all night watching over me. Megan should have been the one talking to me today, but Adika and Megan had ganged up on Lucas to send him instead. They both knew that whatever Lottery said about my physical preferences in men, I was attracted to Lucas.

  Of course I was attracted to Lucas. Physical appearances only mattered when you looked with your eyes. I was a telepath, and when I saw Lucas’s mind …

  I slept, lost deep in blackness without dreams.

  Chapter Seventeen

  There was a knocking sound and a voice calling me. “Amber?”

  It was Lucas’s voice. Telling him to go away wouldn’t work. He’d just stubbornly sit outside my apartment until I opened the front door.

  I groaned. “Come in.”

  The door opened. “Are you ready to go and … Oops.”

  I forced myself awake, and opened my eyes in time to see my bedroom door close. “Oops,” I echoed, and hastily left the sleep field. “I’m getting ready!” I yelled.

  “Clothes are good,” Lucas called back through the closed door. “Or not. Depends what you have in mind. Your call.”

  I checked the time. Waste it, it was nearly eleven! I showered and dressed at express speed, then realized I’d forgotten to put on the lightweight mesh of the body armour under my clothes
. I stripped off, dressed again correctly, grabbed my crystal unit from its shelf, shot out of my room, and found Lucas leaning casually against the wall.

  “Sorry about that,” I said, in what I hoped was a dignified voice. “I was dreaming that you were outside the apartment, so I said to come in.”

  He grinned. “A psychologist could have a lot of fun with the symbolism of that one.”

  “Aren’t you a psychologist?”

  “Partly. My imprint information covers behavioural analysis, tactical information, basic Lottery evaluation, imprinting techniques, and certain areas of psychology. That sounds a lot, but there’s a huge amount of common data between the areas, so it condenses down well.”

  He paused. “Do you want any breakfast before we head out? There’s no desperate rush. Adika can always take the Strike team on a few laps of the park while they’re waiting.”

  I’d been distracted by my embarrassment, but now the cold realization hit me. I had to go and hunt another wild bee. I had to read another mind that was torn with alien emotions. I could refuse, but if I refused this time then the next time would be even harder.

  “I’m not hungry.”

  “We’ll stop off for something to eat while we’re out then,” said Lucas.

  I stared at him in silent disbelief.

  He smiled. “I told you that check runs are much more peaceful. There’s bound to be somewhere serving food in the area.”

  We went out of my apartment and headed for lift 2. Lucas was obviously going to escort me every inch of the way. If I turned round to look behind me, I’d probably see Hannah sprinting into my apartment to clean up. I might as well be in nappies.

  Adika and the Strike team were waiting for me in the lift. Adika exchanged rapid glances with Lucas, and didn’t seem to like what was communicated to him. Did they have a pre-arranged signal, so Lucas could tell Adika that their telepath was still refusing to read even him?

  I put my crystal unit in my ear and went into the lift. When I turned round, I suffered a moment of pure shock. Lucas was in the lift too!

  “Strike team is moving,” said Adika.

  “Tactical ready,” responded a female voice in my ear crystal. That was Emili, deputy leader of the Tactical team.

  “Liaison ready,” said Nicole’s voice. “Tracking is …”

  “Hold it!” I interrupted. The lift doors had closed but I opened them again. “Why is Lucas with us?”

  “I haven’t been shopping in ages,” said Lucas. “This is my big chance to buy new socks.”

  I turned to Adika. “I need a private word. Now!”

  He followed me out of the lift. I moved us far enough away to be out of ear shot, and we turned off our crystal units. “You can’t put Lucas at risk just to babysit me. He’s not trained for this.”

  “I wouldn’t want to take Lucas on an emergency run,” said Adika, “but routine check runs are totally different. All the research and analysis has been done in advance, so we know exactly what we’ll be facing. It’s standard practice to bring a member of the Tactical team along to talk us through the situation.”

  “But what if something unexpected happens? What if it turns out not to be so routine after all?”

  “In that case, Lucas knows he’s to keep out of trouble and stick with you and the bodyguards. He may be Tactical not Strike team, but he’s an excellent shot with a gun and can move fast.”

  I frowned in frustration. I could insist that Lucas was kept safely back in the unit, but overruling his decisions, dictating how he lived his life and did his work, would wreck any chance of a relationship between us.

  “Lucas has already been out on dozens of routine check runs with Keith,” added Adika, in a soothing voice. “Lucas isn’t a liability, he won’t slow us down, and I won’t let him get hurt. I know it can be worrying when someone you care about is …”

  I turned, stalked back into the lift, and turned my ear crystal back on.

  Adika followed me, and closed the lift doors behind us. “Tracking active, Nicole?”

  “Tracking status green for all Strike team,” she said.

  “Amber?”

  I checked my dataview and saw Lucas was listed with my Bodyguard team. “Green,” I said.

  “Everyone, check any bruises are well covered with makeup,” said Adika. “Crystal units kept on audio only for this run. You’re supposed to be innocent shoppers, blending into the crowd.”

  I glanced round at the faces of the Strike team, and got a shock when I saw Forge. The whole of his left cheek had been covered with a skin-toned protective plaster since he cut his face open. Now the plaster was gone, the cut beneath had healed, but …

  “What happened to your birthmark, Forge?” I asked.

  He flushed. “Medical had to do a bit of reconstructive work after that branch ripped my cheek open, so I asked them to get rid of the birthmark at the same time.”

  “Did you feel it was spoiling your good looks?” asked Adika.

  There was a burst of laughter from the rest of the Strike team, and the colour in Forge’s cheeks darkened. “No, but an old girlfriend used to suggest I should get it removed, and this seemed the obvious time to do it.”

  “That reminds me of something,” said Adika. “I heard the unit’s new mural painter arrived last night. Is she moving in with you, Matias?”

  Matias was the one looking embarrassed now. “Sofia will be living in her own apartment. She wants to settle into the unit before taking any important steps in our relationship.”

  Adika’s face twisted in a dubious expression. “Well, I hope it works out for you.”

  There was silence until the lift doors opened on Level 24. We joined the random crowd of people travelling on the express belt. My bodyguards were split ahead and behind me, while Lucas cheerfully stood beside me and took my arm. The rest of the Strike team were standing in groups of two and three, chatting to each other, trying to look like casual travellers.

  Adika’s voice in my ear crystal warned me that we were approaching the scene. Ahead of us was a crowded shopping area.

  “Chase team, detached contact,” said Adika. “Keep Amber and Lucas in sight at all times, but mix in with the crowds. Bodyguard team, stay close to Amber. Brief us on the situation here, Lucas.”

  “The first incident was behind this shoe shop.” A passerby would think Lucas was talking in a low, confidential voice to the girl on his arm, but his words were going out to the whole team.

  I glanced at the shoe shop. Its boundaries were defined by thin plastic partitions. There was a narrow gap between the back of the shop and a structural wall.

  “There was some rubbish behind the shop,” said Lucas. “It was set on fire, the sprinkler system put it out quickly, and nothing was damaged. It would have been possible, but difficult, for an adult to squeeze in there. We think we’re looking for a child.”

  Lucas showed us two more spots in the shopping area, all in places blocked from public view. “There were three more incidents in the housing warren north of here, but we’d look a bit conspicuous if we all trek round to see where those happened. There were also two incidents in the park to the south, and one in the local community centre.”

  He led me to a group of seats in the centre of the shopping area. We sat together on one seat, a pair of bodyguards took the next one, and three others stood in a group nearby. The Chase team lurked around the neighbourhood. Adika was with Forge, apparently debating whether one of the jackets on a clothing stall would suit him. It wouldn’t.

  “The last incident was the worrying one,” said Lucas. “Our firebug used an inflammable liquid, and the blaze was much worse than previous ones. That escalated the warning signs from strength two to strength three. The next progression is sabotaging the sprinkler system, which increases the risk of people getting hurt or killed. We’re here to stop that happening. Over to you, Amber.”

  I couldn’t dodge things any longer. I closed my eyes and sat there for a couple of minut
es, alone in the darkness in my own head, just thinking. I wasn’t sure why I was so reluctant to reach out to other minds. Yesterday had been frightening, it made sense that I didn’t want to experience the thoughts of another wild bee, but why didn’t I want to read Lucas? I liked reading Lucas. I loved the wild ride of swirling along with his thoughts.

  And the answer was obvious. I didn’t want to read any thoughts, because I didn’t want to be a telepath. I wanted to be imprinted, to be like everyone else, so the part of me that hated nosies would leave me in peace, but that was never going to happen.

  The situation was brutally simple. I was a telepath and I was urgently needed. I had to help the Hive mind get more stable, or the other Telepath Units would be overwhelmed by too many emergency runs. I had to stop thinking of myself, and think of a hundred million other people. They didn’t know it, but they were depending on me to keep them safe.

  I remembered the Hive Obligations and the Duty songs I’d learnt in school. The Hive was our world. We served it and it gave us everything we needed. Since Lottery, the Hive hadn’t just given me everything I needed, but buried me in luxuries as well.

  I had to do my duty in return. The first step was the hardest, so I made it as easy as possible for myself. I reached out to Lucas, and found his mind was layered with frantic, anxious thoughts.

  … still not even reading me, and if she won’t do that then …

  … stupid gamble pushing her into this. Should have given her more time to …

  It was going so well. Too well. Everyone has weaknesses and Amber …

  … Telepath Unit with a telepath who won’t read people is completely useless.

  … blocked me along with the rest. Waste it, that hurts. I thought I was special to her.

  … she was floating in mid air, with no clothes on. If I’d stayed …

  I was six levels deep, and things were getting very personal. I pulled out rapidly, and then let my mind drift out among the people in the shopping area. Nothing, nothing, nothing. As I reached further out, something caught my attention.